From Taboo To Transformational: 7 Essential Steps On The Promising Path Of Psychedelic Therapy

Mental health treatment is facing significant deficits. As of 2021, statistics show that approximately 57.8 million American adults aged 18 or older grappled with any mental illness (AMI), while roughly 14.1 million confronted serious mental illness (SMI).¹ For many Americans coping with conditions like clinical depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the prevailing treatment approach revolves around medication. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of current medications often falls short of expectations.²

This challenge isn't confined solely to the general population; our nation's veterans also bear the burden of mental health issues, with a tragic average of 17 veterans dying by suicide every day despite pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions.² The repercussions of shortcomings in mental health treatment extend beyond those directly affected by AMI or SMI. These issues often have a ripple effect, impacting families, loved ones, and communities. For instance, among veterans with PTSD, domestic violence rates surge, highlighting the dire consequences of ineffective treatment. While one in three women and one in four men in the general population may experience intimate partner violence, over half of military couples affected by PTSD have encountered some form of physical altercation.^3,4

Patients, along with their loved ones, are left without hope due to treatment-resistant conditions and therapies fraught with ineffectiveness or debilitating side effects.

In this article, the authors outline why it is imperative that the industry reevaluates and transforms the system, offering individuals the effective and comprehensive care they so desperately require—and how to do it.